Havlish v. Taliban: Second Circuit Denies Rehearing En Banc
As of Spring 2026, Afghan central bank assets blocked by the U.S. government remain unavailable to satisfy terrorism-related judgments. In March, a divided Second Circuit denied rehearing en banc to victims of terrorist attacks who hold judgments against the Taliban and who seek to enforce those judgments against $3.5 billion in “blocked” assets held in…
Continue ReadingCentral Bank Immunity, Afghanistan, and Judgments Against the Taliban
International law and U.S. foreign policy provide powerful reasons to require clearer direction from the political branches before ordering the turnover of Afghan central bank assets to U.S. judgment creditors. [This post also appears on Lawfare]. Afghan central bank assets in the United States were frozen by President Biden following the Taliban’s takeover of the…
Continue ReadingHavlish Plaintiffs File a Potentially Misleading Brief Claiming Entitlement to Afghan Central Bank Assets
The 2021 return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan has led to litigation in the United States over the assets of the Afghan Central Bank (“DAB”). As I explained in an earlier post, an executive order by President Biden froze about $7.0 billion in DAB assets held in New York. A license from the…
Continue Reading